"I talk with Nelo often and I am sure he will do a great job. He is a very knowledgeable coach with a lot of experience. He is already working hard to improve the team, and the players will enjoy training and working with him."

Vingada, who won the Asian Cup with Saudi Arabia in 1996, has earned praise from the Malaysian squad for his man management skills.

But the 64-year-old still has plenty to work on the Malaysians, whose late collapse saw the under-strength Lebanese score twice in the last 15 minutes.

Malaysia, who had taken a first-half lead through Mahali Jasuli, clearly showed a dip in energy levels leading to goals from Rabih Ataya, with the winner coming in the 94th minute.

Carlos Queiroz worked with Nelo Vingada at Portugal U20 and with Iran's national side.

Quieroz, who was a long-time assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, asked the Malaysians to give Vingada more time to adjust to a new football culture.

"He has only been there a few days and needs time. He is very good at bringing young players and he will be talking with all the local coaches and everyone involved," Queiroz said.

Vingada, who also worked with less success as an assistant to Queiroz in Iran in 2014, arrived in Malaysia only three weeks before the clash against Lebanon.

He plans to gather his players in mid-August for centralised training ahead of their next Group B qualifier at home to Hong Kong on Sep. 5.

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